Lemonade Home

Fast sign-up, quickly paid claims, a little help from AI, and a transparent Giveback program make Lemonade an appealing home insurance provider.

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InsuranceRanked Score 4.41
Contact Number (844) 733-8666
Year Founded 2015

Lemonade Home 2024 Review

Bryan Huynh

Product Tester & Writer


Lemonade Home screen shot

Lemonade Home Insurance Review – Pros, Cons and Coverage

Fast sign-up, quickly paid claims, a little help from AI, and a transparent Giveback program make Lemonade an appealing home insurance provider.

Your home is the most valuable thing you own. You want to be protected and if you have to file a claim, you want it to be straightforward.

Lemonade home insurance features a quick and easy sign up and claims filing process that can be done right from the app (signing up can also be done on the web). Even better, it uses artificial intelligence and chatbots instead of insurance brokers in order to respond to your claims faster. Have a more complex issue? They have human support on-hand to help you out.

Should you need to file a claim, you can upload everything right to the app, including police reports, receipts, and other information. Simple claims are paid in as little as three seconds.

A popular feature of Lemonade is the Giveback program. Lemonade gives back any money left over after paying claims to different charities. Customers choose a charity when they sign up for their policy.

If you love the idea of buying your policy right from your phone and want to support good causes with your premium dollars, Lemonade might be the right choice for you.

Lemonade Home Insurance: What You Need to Know

Lemonade is a property and casualty insurance company that provides homeowner, renter and condo insurance. They do things a little differently with artificial intelligence and chatbots instead of traditional brokers.

When you buy home insurance, you’ll complete the entire process with AI Maya right from your phone.

See how it works here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGYTy6Oc6rA ]

How Does Lemonade Home Insurance Work?

Lemonade home insurance works much like other traditional insurance carriers. Premiums collected from policyholders in the same “peer group” go to pay for that group’s claims. Much like other insurance carriers, the model depends on not every policyholder in the group filing a claim. \

The nuts and bolts are the same as other home insurance policies. Homeowners set their coverage limits and deductibles, pay a monthly premium, and are covered in the case of certain unforeseen events.

An important part of Lemonade’s model is its Giveback policy, which we will go into in more detail later. Giveback functions to give any money “left over” from premiums to different charities. This program is part of Lemonade’s status as a B-Corp: a Public Benefit Corporation.

Lemonade takes a flat fee of premiums. The rest of the money goes to buy reinsurance and pay claims. Lemonade buys reinsurance from respected companies like syndicates of Lloyd's of London. Any money left over is donated to charity through the Giveback program.

Choose Your Policy, Get Covered, File a Claim

All policyholders choose a charity when they sign up, and those who choose the same one are pooled together. All the money left over is tallied up once a year and donated to charities policyholders choose.

Beyond what is normally covered in their policies, policyholders can add Extra Coverage on items like jewelry, musical instruments, and fine art. With this coverage they will get full replacement value of the items and not pay a deductible.

Another appealing feature is the Zero Everything program, available in selected areas. With this, policyholders can make a certain number of claims each year with no deductible. Plus, there is no damage to their claim history.

Where is Lemonade Insurance Available?

Lemonade Renters, Condo, and Homeowners insurance is available in Arizona, California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin.

Renters and Condo insurance (but not homeowner) is available in Rhode Island.

Renters insurance (no Homeowner or Condo) is available in Arkansas, Iowa, and New Mexico.

Lemonade encourages homeowners and renters in other states to stay tuned here as they are rolling out in new states.

How Much Does Lemonade Cost?

The cost of your Lemonade home insurance will vary, depending on factors like your address, building, distance from the coast, and whether you have a fire or burglar alarm. Homeowners insurance starts at $25/month.

Like with other insurance providers you may see higher rates if you have a history of making insurance claims.

What Does Lemonade Home Insurance Cover?

There are five main types of coverage in your plan and we explain what is covered by each one.

Carefully read your policy to determine what exclusions apply to you. Coverage limits vary by state.

1. Coverage A – Dwelling Coverage

This coverage covers your home and attached structures like your garage in the case of sudden unexpected events. The damage cannot be due to negligence.

For example, losses that could have been avoided with proper maintenance, such as a roof that had needed repairs for years, probably won’t be covered. Make sure to read your policy carefully.

Dwelling coverage is based on “open perils”. What this means is that unless your policy specifically excludes a peril, you are covered for it.

Homeowners need to set the limit of their dwelling coverage. They should not choose the purchase price of their home. This amount should be the amount it would take to rebuild their home in the event of a catastrophe.

2. Coverage B – Other Structures

See Coverage A. Pertains to other structures on your property like garages, fences, swimming pools, etc.

3. Coverage C – Personal Property

Lemonade covers your personal property against sudden and unexpected events. The coverage limit should be set at 50-75% of your dwelling coverage. If you need more, look into Extra Coverage.

Personal property is only covered against the perils named in your policy (different from open perils). Here are the most common “named perils”:

  • Fire or lightning
  • Windstorm or hail
  • Explosions
  • Riots
  • Aircraft
  • Vehicles
  • Smoke
  • Vandalism
  • Theft
  • Falling objects
  • Weight of ice, snow, or sleet
  • Accidental discharge or overflow of water or steam
  • Sudden and accidental tearing, cracking, burning, or bulging
  • Freezing
  • Sudden and accidental damage due to short circuiting
  • Volcanic eruption

Losses due to natural disasters like floods or earthquakes are not covered. You will need to explore additional coverage options.

Remember, you usually are not covered in the case of negligence. For example, if your bike was stolen but you forgot to lock it.

4. Coverage D – Loss of Use

Experts recommend you set this coverage limit at around 20-30% of your dwelling coverage. There are three different types of “loss of use” that are covered.

a. Loss of Use - Additional Living Expenses

These are extra out-of-pocket costs that result should your residence become unlivable due to a covered peril (fire, etc). This could include laundry, parking, take-out, storage fees and moving costs.

b. Loss of Use - Fair Rental Value

If you rent out your home and your home is unlivable due to a covered peril, homeowners can be reimbursed for certain periods of time. This is normally for a limited period.

c. Loss of Use - Government Intervention

An example of this is if you lived in California and there was a mandatory evacuation due to wildfires. You would be covered for up to two weeks under the Civil Authority clause.

5. Personal Liability Insurance

Personal liability insurance covers you in the event that you cause bodily injury or damage to property or other people’s property at your home or anywhere else. Most policies are set at $100k. You can increase your coverage limit in many states up to $1m.

Here are some scenarios it would help with:

  1. If you need a lawyer to defend you in court
    
  2. Medical payments coverage
    
  3. Property damage payments
    
  4. Damages that members of your household cause to others
    
  5. Damages that your pets cause to others
    

For example, perhaps your pet bit someone. Or someone slipped and fell while at your house and is now suing you. Personal liability insurance pays for your lawyer and other fees. With personal liability insurance, you are protected up to a certain limit.

A note on dog bites: Dog bites are normally covered except under the following conditions.

The victim cannot be someone covered under your policy already. The dog cannot have a history of biting. And the dog can’t be considered ‘vicious’.

Excluded dog breeds are Akitas, Alaskan Malamutes, Chows, Doberman Pinschers, German Shepherds, Great Danes,Malamutes, Presa Canarios, Rottweilers, Siberian Huskies, and Staffordshire Terriers.

However, if the dog is a Seeing Eye dog or a support animal and is one of the above breeds, it is covered.

Lemonade Home Insurance Features

  • Started in 2015 by Daniel Schreiber and Shai Wininger
  • Headquarters in New York City
  • Powered by artificial intelligence, chatbots, and behavioral economics
  • Homeowners, renters, co-op, and condo insurance policies
  • No brokers or insurance agents
  • Instant quotes, instant claims
  • Built-in social good program
  • Fast payout of claims
  • Zero Everything (no damage to claim history and no deductible)
  • Not available in every state
  • Champion of the “fully autonomous organization”
  • 2018 Giveback program donated more than $162,000 to 15 charities
  • Average handling time of claims is one day
  • Partners with 3rd party agencies to handle in-person visits

Pros and Cons of Lemonade Homeowners Insurance

By now you have some idea of how Lemonade homeowners insurance works. Here we will go into some of the pros and cons that will help you make a decision.

Pros

  • Quick and easy sign up
  • Transparent policies
  • AI ensures fast response time
  • 33% of claims are paid in three seconds
  • Giveback program helps charities around the world
  • Social Good aspect encourages claim makers to be truthful
  • Zero Everything feature (no damage to claim history and no deductible)
  • Handles small claims instantly

Cons

  • Giveback could be erased by a large number of claims (2017 was one of the worst years for insurers on record)
  • Not available in all states
  • Only sells Renters, Home, and Condo insurance
  • Does not handle in-person visits itself

Discounts on Lemonade Home Insurance

Lemonade does not offer bundle discounts on its home insurance.

Lemonade Home Insurance Customer Reviews

We did some research to see what people are saying about Lemonade home insurance. Most of the positive reviews we found appeared to be for renters insurance. It was harder to get a clear view of home insurance.

For example, Lemonade is rated #2 for renters insurance on Clearsurance.com. It has a total of 110 reviews. But fewer than 25 of those reviews were for home insurance.

One homeowner on Clearsurance had a positive experience with Lemonade:

_“Jan 16, 2019 I had the best experience with Lemonade. My claim took a bit long to get resolved, but it's understandable as they need to conduct the appropriate investigation. However, everything was handled very professionally and I had a positive result. Thank you Lemonade for taking care of me.” _

Here are some other things that reviewers had to say about Lemonade insurance:

“It’s a super fast and friendly claims process with everything done through the app. I only had to follow up one time and then I had the money in my account the same day.” - Ed S.

“From initially going with Lemonade for my Homeowner's insurance to filing (and getting) my first claim approved, the Lemonade experience has been wonderful - stress-free, expedient, efficient, accommodating, friendly and pleasant. Lemonade is a true 21st Century company with a wonderful company culture. (My rep Reese rocked too!!)” - John M.

How to Apply for Lemonade Home Insurance

Applying for Lemonade home insurance is easy with your laptop or smartphone.

On the Web

  1. Go to www.lemonade.com.

  2. Click “Get Home Insurance” button.

  3. You will be assisted by Maya, Lemonade’s AI insurance assistant.

  4. Fill in your name.

  5. Fill in your home address.

  6. If home insurance is offered in your state, great!

  7. Continue to answer questions about the size of your home, pets, and what your house is used for.

  8. Enter your email address and your birthday.

  9. Your quote is calculated instantly on the spot. At this point you can make changes to your policy and add Extra Coverage for valuables.

By App

  1. Download the Lemonade App on Google Play or the Apple Store.

  2. Open app and create an account.

  3. Type in your home address.

  4. You will answer questions about whether you rent or own, the size of your home, pets, and square footage.

  5. Based on your information your quote will be calculated instantly.

  6. Make any changes you would like and add Extra Coverage for valuable items such as for jewelry, fine art, and instruments.

By Phone

It is not possible to apply for Lemonade home insurance over the phone.

How to File an Insurance Claim with Lemonade

Filing an insurance claim with Lemonade is easy. It is only possible on the app.

By App

  1. Hit the Claim button on your Lemonade app on iOS or Android.
  2. You will record a short video describing what happened.
  3. You will also submit any receipts or police reports you have relating to the incident.

How to Contact Lemonade

**Address: **Headquarters 5 Crosby St New York, NY 10013 **Customer Service: **(844) 733-8666 Policyholders experiencing an emergency should also call this number. Website: www.lemonade.com Email Support: [email protected] Instagram: www.instagram.com/lemonade_inc/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/lemonade Twitter: @lemonade_inc

Does Lemonade Offer Other Kinds of Insurance?

Besides home insurance, Lemonade offers renters insurance, condo insurance and co-op insurance.

Summary

Regarding home insurance, Lemonade is entering a crowded field. Some of these companies have been in business for more than two centuries. All employ their own in-house adjusters and need not use third-parties to investigate claims.

What these companies don’t have is a reputation that appeals to millenials. Quite the opposite – traditional insurance companies are not well trusted!

Lemonade’s Giveback program is highly touted. In truth, its 2018 $160k donation pales in comparison to Travelers Insurance $50 million donation to the city of Hartford alone. But Lemonade is a young company so let’s see if their numbers increase.

A salient feature of Lemonade is its lack of interest in job creation. They have made the trade-off between extremely fast claims handling and the hiring of, well, people. It seems that Lemonade makes up for this deficit by giving customers’ premium dollars to charities in an interactive and transparent way.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I reach Lemonade insurance?

If you need to cancel your policy or have an emergency you can call 1-844-733-8666 between 8am and 8pm, EST.

How long will it take to process my claim?

If your claim is straightforward, it will be processed in as little as three seconds. Otherwise a human representative will contact you for more information.

Does my insurance policy cover theft away from my home?

Yes. Your stuff is covered whether you are at home or not. Anything you own that’s super valuable should be covered under Extra Coverage on your policy. That way you will get the full replacement cost without any deductible.

Can I change my deductible?

Yes. If you are okay with paying a higher deductible, which means lower premiums, simply open your Lemonade app. Choose “Edit Coverage” on the home screen. Scroll to the section about your deductible, change the amount and that’s it! You will be emailed a new version of your policy.

Am I covered if my dog bites someone outside my home?

Yes, you are. The restriction to this is that your dog can’t have a history of biting and it can’t be categorized as a “vicious breed”. Scroll to our section about what is covered in your policy for more information.

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